Historical rpgs based on public domain works

droog · March 05, 2007, 01:57:40 AM

I'd have a look at Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War for a good historical setting. Better reading than Xenophon and more scope.

I like Pierce's notion. I must have a look through the list.

The Good Assyrian · March 05, 2007, 04:16:41 PM

Quote from: droogI'd have a look at Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War for a good historical setting. Better reading than Xenophon and more scope.

Oh, I like Thucydides, but I kinda think the rather limited scope of a Xenophon-based setting would be an advantage. The action is focussed on the plight of the Greeks trying to get home through a hostile land. The characters are the behind-the-scenes troubleshooters who make it happen, while Xenophon writes the book and gets the credit!

TGA

Nicephorus · March 05, 2007, 04:29:21 PM

Quote from: The Good AssyrianI kinda think the rather limited scope of a Xenophon-based setting would be an advantage.

This would instantly the troubling question for settings - What are you supposed to do? That would make it more concrete and easier to sell. You could flesh it out with possibilities of small groups doing their own thing but it would all be variations on the theme of in a strange land.

Anemone · March 05, 2007, 04:43:48 PM

Oooh, I certainly would enjoy many of the settings suggested here. The ones that most caught my eye were Machiavelli's The Prince and the Jules Verne universe. Ultimately, my criteria for purchase would be:

good, preferably low-crunch & light-weight system;
quality of the writing;
usefulness of the GM material provided (it would have to be better than what I can come up with on my own from just reading the original works);
visual quality of the layout and graphics (public domain art should be available for many of these works, and good crisp, legible layouts are worth gold).

Werekoala · March 05, 2007, 04:49:50 PM

HG Wells' The History of the World. Use it for Victorian-era time travel or something similar, again assuming every word is exactly true.

jdrakeh · March 05, 2007, 04:50:11 PM

I'm writing a game based on The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Christian knights, horned men, vegetable lambs. . . lots of exaggeration for effect. It's called "In the Company of Liars"

Pierce Inverarity · March 05, 2007, 05:00:40 PM

That's a GREAT idea, James!

Kyle Aaron · March 05, 2007, 07:30:07 PM

Quote from: AnemoneThe ones that most caught my eye were Machiavelli's The Prince and the Jules Verne universe.

Have you seen Forgotten Futures? This is a guy who's done something like we're talking about, using the scientific romances of the 19th century. For example,

Forgotten Futures 2: The Log of the Astronef
A comprehensive guide to the exploration of the Solar System in 1900 AD. Based on George Griffith's Stories Of Other Worlds, it contains six stories, the illustrations from their original publication, a worldbook taking the story forward to 1920, a spaceship design spreadsheet, five adventures, and more.

Free downloads, baby. Gotta be good!

Anemone · March 06, 2007, 09:45:01 AM

Ah yes, great stuff!

James' talk of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville also got me grinning with interest.

I guess the idea of plucking from public domain works to create a setting is exactly what Alan Moore did with The Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen (excellent comic, crappy movie).

Koltar · March 06, 2007, 01:50:43 PM

How about those 'Dime Novels" of the 1860s through 1890s? The ones that made the Wild West seem a lot more "wild" than it really was . Got to be some game-worthy material in a few of those books. The majority of those should be public domain by now.

- E.W.C.

The Yann Waters · March 07, 2007, 08:02:20 AM

Quote from: jdrakehI'm writing a game based on The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Christian knights, horned men, vegetable lambs. . . lots of exaggeration for effect. It's called "In the Company of Liars"

That map thread just reminded me of something: have you seen
this?